Beverage infusion device

ABSTRACT

A beverage infusion device having an increased surface area for infusion of a dry beverage material, thereby facilitating faster brewing and more intense flavor. The infusion device includes a liquid permeable pouch divided into smaller sections, which hold the dry beverage material, thus preventing the dry beverage material from clumping at the bottom of the pouch. The pouch basically comprises two layers of permeable material attached in a pattern of strategic points that preferably form a multidimensional grid. The attachment points divide the layers into the smaller beverage holding sections. This design increases the exposure of the dry beverage material to the liquid. This increased exposure allows for better infusion.  
     The beverage infusion device of the present invention provides a method for infusing a dry beverage material that is quicker than traditional brewing methods and produces full flavor in less time.

[0001] The present invention is directed generally to a beverage infusion device and specifically to an improved device for brewing tea, coffee, or other beverage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Traditionally, devices for brewing dry beverages are simple pouches containing portions of the dry beverage material. Tea bags are probably the most widely known and used dry beverage brewing devices. When a tea bag is submerged in liquid, typically water, the tea sinks to the bottom of the bag where it forms a dense clump making it difficult for the tea and water to interact most efficiently. The tea bag has to steep in the water for a lengthy amount of time to obtain the full flavor of the tea. On many occasions, by the time the tea is sufficiently brewed, the water is cold. This is fine for iced tea, but not for hot tea.

[0003] Many people, especially those who do not like strong tea, like to reuse a particular tea bag. When a typical tea bag is removed from the water, it is a sopping wad of tea leaves. This wad takes a long time to dry and is very unattractive after it finally dries.

[0004] Tea bags have been developed that attempt to increase the surface area of the tea bag, thereby creating more interaction between the leaves and the water. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,741 to Van Der Zon and U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,668 to Kopp disclose infusion packages having a pair of attached pouches to allow for better infusion. U.S. Pat. No. 4,290,521 to Mitchell discloses a foldable tea bag having a three-dimensional interior space. Further U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,028 to Lesser discloses a beverage filter that attaches to the drinking container and is suspended within the container, allowing for free flow of the liquid and dry beverage material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The present invention provides for a beverage infusion device having an increased surface area for infusion of a dry beverage material, thereby facilitating faster brewing and more intense flavor. The infusion device includes a liquid permeable pouch divided into smaller sections, which hold the dry beverage material, thus preventing the dry beverage material from clumping at the bottom of the pouch. The pouch basically comprises two layers of permeable material attached in a pattern of strategic points that preferably form a multidimensional grid. The attachment points divide the layers into the smaller beverage holding sections. This design increases the exposure of the dry beverage material to the liquid. This increased exposure allows for better infusion.

[0006] The beverage infusion device of the present invention provides a method for infusing a dry beverage material that is quicker than traditional brewing methods and produces full flavor in less time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007]FIG. 1 shows a front view of the grid configuration of the beverage infusion device.

[0008]FIG. 2a shows an end view of the beverage infusion device of FIG. 1.

[0009]FIG. 2b shows an alternate end view of the beverage infusion device of FIG. 1.

[0010]FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of the beverage infusion device of FIG. 1 inside a cup of water.

[0011]FIG. 4 shows a front view of the beverage infusion device having a circular grid configuration.

[0012]FIG. 5 shows a front view of the channel configuration of the beverage infusion device.

[0013]FIG. 6 shows an end view of the channel configuration of FIG. 5.

[0014]FIG. 7 shows an end view of an alternate channel configuration of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] The beverage infusion device of the present invention is a pouch divided into sections, each of which contains a small portion of dry beverage material. The beverage material can be any that requires infusion to be in drinkable form such as tea and coffee. For simplicity, the present invention will refer to tea as the beverage material, but this reference is not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

[0016] The tea pouch of the present invention is made of at least two layers of a permeable material that are bonded at strategic points to create sections within the pouch. These sections can have various configurations such as a grid configuration and a channel configuration.

[0017] In a grid configuration as shown in FIG. 1, tea pouch 10 is comprised of at least two layers of permeable 14 a and 14 b bonded at points 12 to create sections 11. As shown in the end view of the grid configuration in FIGS. 2a and 2 b, the layers 14 a and 14 b are preferably coffered to further define each section 11 which holds a small amount of tea 13. The bonding must be significant enough to keep the tea from moving outside of its respective section. Preferably the bonding is accomplished with an embosser, a heat embosser, or pattern stitching, but may also be achieved with a non-soluable, non-toxic adhesive. The sectioned pouch prevents the tea from piling up at the bottom of the pouch as in typical tea bags, thereby increasing the surface area for infusion of the water with the tea. Unlike traditional tea bags, the beverage infusion device of the present invention also allows convected liquid to pass through since there is less resistance due to the increased surface area and thin disbursement of the beverage material.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment, the device is divided into sections and subsections as shown in FIGS. 2a, 2 b, and 3. In this embodiment, the layers 14 a and 14 b are coffered into a series of large sections, which are in turn coffered to form a series of smaller subsections within each large section.

[0019] The pouch can be of any desired shape, such as the circular shape of FIG. 4 and the rectangular shape of FIG. 1. The pouch can contain a string or a simple tab end 15, as shown in the Figures, that remains cool and dry while allowing the pouch to be dipped in and out of the liquid.

[0020] As mentioned, the layers 14 a and 14 b of permeable material are preferably not simple flat layers, but are instead preferably coffered as shown in FIGS. 2a and 2 b. This coffering of the layers maximizes liquid contact with and flow through the tea 13 and also yields sections having a larger volume capacity thereby allowing for the expansion of the tea as it steeps in the water.

[0021] In an alternative embodiment, the tea pouch is divided into parallel channels 20 as shown in FIG. 5. These parallel channels 20 can be configured in a variety of arrangements, some embodiments of which are shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, one layer 21 is corrugated to have a series of high points 22 and low points 23 that form channels and another layer 24 is bonded to either of the series of points 22 and 23 of the corrugated layer 21. The tea is held inside the individual channels 20, thereby preventing the tea from clumping together and providing better infusion. FIGS. 5 and 6 demonstrate an alternative configuration wherein two layers 25 a and 25 b are both corrugated having peaks 26 and valleys 27. Each peak 26 of layer 25 b is bonded to a valley of layer 25 a thereby forming a series of parallel channels 20, having a tube-like configuration. The bonds of peaks and valleys prevent the passing of tea between channels.

[0022] The configurations disclosed herein are possible embodiments of the present invention, and other embodiments having different channel, pouch, and sectional configurations could also be used.

[0023] The sectioned tea bag facilitates faster brewing because the tea is held in a thin layer rather than a thick clump, thereby maximizing exposed surface area and allowing liquid to pass through many times faster than a conventional tea bag. Faster brewing allows the beverage to come to full flavor before it becomes too cold. Further, the sectioned tea bags dry faster for those tea drinkers who like to reuse tea bags. The beverage infusion device of the present invention is easy to use and familiar to customers because it is used in the same way as traditional infusion packages, but works faster and more efficiently.

[0024] The beverage infusion device of the present invention requires less dry beverage material than is required in traditional tea bags due to its increased surface area and increased exposure of the beverage material to liquid, thereby allowing the manufacturer to use half the amount of the beverage material normally required, and possibly less. The savings on materials can yield extra profitability to the manufacturer or reduced price to the consumer. Also, smaller beverage material requirements results in reduced weight of the dry beverage material product and can produce savings in packaging, shipping, and retailing.

[0025] One possibility for manufacturing the beverage infusion device at high speed with simple machinery is to coffer a first layer of permeable material, cover this layer of material with a thin layer of dry beverage material, and then layer a second permeable layer of material on top of the first layer and beverage material. More particularly, the first layer travels upon a bed that vibrates to distribute the dry beverage material into the coffered sections. The second layer is then laid upon the first layer and an attaching mechanism, preferably an embosser, fuses the two layers together in a sectioned configuration. The fused layers are then cut into the finished beverage infusion device. Other manufacturing methods obvious to those skilled in the art could also be used to produce the beverage infusion device. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A beverage infusion device comprising: a first layer of permeable material; a second layer of permeable material; a plurality of attachment points attaching said first layer and said second layer of permeable material; a plurality of sections formed between said first and second layers by said attachment points; and a portion of dry beverage material within each section.
 2. The beverage infusion device of claim 1, wherein said plurality of sections are in a grid configuration.
 3. The beverage infusion device of claim 1, wherein said plurality of sections are divided into a plurality of smaller subsections.
 4. The beverage infusion device of claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and said second layers of permeable material are coffered.
 5. The beverage infusion device of claim 1, wherein each of said attachment points comprises a non-soluble, non-toxic adhesive.
 6. The beverage infusion device of claim 1, wherein each of said attachment points comprises at least two layers of embossed material.
 7. The beverage infusion device of claim 1, wherein each of said attachment points comprises at least two layers of stitched material.
 8. The beverage infusion device of claim 1, wherein said dry beverage material is tea.
 9. The beverage infusion device of claim 1, wherein said dry beverage material is coffee.
 10. The beverage infusion device of claim 1, wherein said sections increase surface area for infusion of water with tea.
 11. The beverage infusion device of claim 1, further comprising a dipping string.
 12. The beverage infusion device of claim 1, further comprising a dipping tab.
 13. The beverage infusion device of claim 1, wherein said device is rectangular in shape.
 14. The beverage infusion device of claim 1, wherein said plurality of sections are parallel channels.
 15. The beverage infusion device of claim 14, wherein said first layer of permeable material is corrugated to form a plurality of peaks and valleys, wherein said attachment points comprise either said plurality peaks or said plurality of valleys of said corrugated layer, and wherein said second layer of permeable material is attached to said first layer at said attachment points to form said parallel channels.
 16. The beverage infusion device of claim 14, wherein said first layer of permeable material is corrugated to form a plurality of peaks and valleys, wherein said second layer of permeable material is corrugated to form a plurality of peaks and valleys, wherein said attachment points comprise said plurality of valleys of said corrugated first layer and said plurality of peaks of said second layer, wherein each valley of said first layer corresponds to one peak of said second layer, and wherein said corresponding peaks and valleys bond said first layer to said second layer to form said parallel channels.
 17. The beverage infusion device of claim 16, wherein said parallel channels are a plurality of tubes.
 18. The beverage infusion device of claim 14, wherein said dry beverage material is contained within each of said parallel channels.
 19. A beverage infusion device for fast and efficient infusion of tea comprising: a first layer of permeable material; a second layer of permeable material; a plurality of attachment points attaching said first layer and said second layer of permeable material; a plurality of sections formed between said first and second layers by said attachment points, said plurality of section being divided to form a grid configuration; and a portion of dry beverage material within each of said plurality of sections; wherein, at least one of said first and second permeable layers of material are coffered.
 20. A method for brewing a dry beverage material comprising: covering a first layer of permeable material with a thin layer of said dry beverage material; attaching a second layer of permeable material to said first layer over said thin layer of dry beverage material; dividing said attached first and second layers into a plurality of sections by including a plurality of attachment points between said first and second layers; and submerging said layers containing said dry beverage material into a liquid.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein said plurality of sections are in a grid-like configuration.
 22. The method of claim 20, wherein said plurality of sections are divided into a plurality of smaller sub-sections.
 23. The method of claim 20, wherein said at least one of said first and second layers of permeable material is coffered.
 24. The method of claim 20, wherein said plurality of sections are parallel channels.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein said first layer of permeable material is corrugated to form said channels.
 26. The method of claim 24, wherein said first layer and said second layer are corrugated to form said channels. 